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Media Ethics: Truth, Fairness and Objectivity GOOD manners were at one time the hallmark of a professional person. Among the media and other professionals, the word "ethics" came into increased circulation about three decades ago; although, in simple terms, we are still referring to the spirit behind the good-old good manners.
India’s free and vibrant mainstream, as also the regional media, has grown in a dramatic fashion. If only it pays due importance to its responsibility and ethical practises, there is no doubt that the country’s media will emerge as a trailblazer in entire Asia and, perhaps, the world in the coming years. Experts now believe that information coming from all the new forms of media has made the traditional journalism’s role of "gatekeeper" more important than ever, and predict that such a role not only is not going away but is "coming back big time". How does the media prepare itself for this onerous task? In the changed global economic and political scenario, the Indian media too underwent rapid changes, some desirable and quite a few undesirable. Fortunately, there is a growing realisation, especially in the print media, that purely market forces cannot dictate newspapers because this is bad for business itself. At a time when a healthy introspection is on among media professionals and the alarmed public, Paranjoy Guha Thakurata’s book Media Ethics: Truth, Fairness and Objectivity provides invaluable inputs for a meaningful dialogue. Paranjoy brings into this discussion his diverse experience he gained working for the print, Internet, radio, and television media. Here is an important quote from the book attributed to a well-known journalist: "The growing disconnect between mass media and mass reality sums up the status of the media as of today. The real issue is about the bankruptcy of media leadership. At a time when a large number of farmers were committing suicides, 512 journalists covered Lakme Fashion Week `85 "I am not saying everything is bleak. There is an incredible amount of young journalistic talent in the country. I still find that compared to any other profession, people come to journalism out of idealism because of the history of journalism in this country, a country where journalism is the child of freedom struggle." However, the strongest point of the book is its lucid, incisive and simple narrative that would delight any reader. It provides a holistic view of the evolving relationship between the media and its consumers. He analyses in detail the ethical issues revolving around major news stories, and presents case studies such as the Aarushi-Hemraj murder and the Mumbai terror attacks. A wider debate on this generally neglected subject is needed. The media does play a crucial role in helping democracy retain its vibrancy and health. An "ethical" media can be a powerful tool to educate/prepare the public to wage the real war against terrorism at the grass-roots level. As Gabriel Garcia Marquez once said: "Journalism must go back to the trenches and rediscover the basics. (The problems) seems to be compounded by the inability of the profession to evolve at the same pace as the tools of the trade, and by the fact that journalists are getting mired in the labyrinth created by technology as it hurtles forward. "In other words, there is fierce competition among companies to acquire modern tools while they have been slow to train their staff and adopt the mechanisms that fostered team spirit in the past. Newsrooms have become aseptic laboratories where people toil in isolation, places where it seems easier to communicate via cyberspace than by touching the hearts of readers. "Dehumanisation is spreading at an alarming pace. It is not easy to understand how technology, in all its glory, and communications, which takes place at lightning speed, things that we all hankered after in our time, have managed to hasten and exacerbate the agony associated with closing time." As a journalist and
media teacher, I found Paranjoy Thakurata’s book an invaluable
handbook for both practising journalists and students in these
challenging times as vividly described by Marquez. It is
user-friendly, and succeeds in discussing the theoretical and
practical dimensions of ethical journalism in an engaging manner. A
nice, reasonably priced and handy book on good manners!
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During the past decade,
the mainstream media’s offerings (especially those from TV news
channels) have begun to try public’s patience. A shocking disregard
of good manners, or "ethical" practices, is leaving many
readers/viewers cold if not angry.